Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers in the National Assembly on Monday condemned the Quetta suicide bombing and said that terrorist attacks were result of government’s flawed policies.

They criticised the intelligence agencies for their failure to prevent such attacks. They said that terrorism was a global issue, but other countries took appropriate measures to prevent terrorist activities. They said the entire nation stood united after the Peshawar school attack and reached a consensus on the National Action Plan against terrorism, but it was not implemented effectively. They said that such attacks would continue to occur in the country if the government does not improve its relations with its neighbours, especially Afghanistan.

The National Assembly suspended its routine agenda to discuss the situation arising out of the Quetta incident in which at least 70 people were killed and several wounded. Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid moved a resolution in the National Assembly seeking suspension of the routine agenda. The House offered Fateha for those who lost their lives in the Quetta bombing and prayed for early recovery of those injured.

Earlier, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that most of the people who fell prey to Monday’s bombing were lawyers and media persons. Opening the debate on the issue, Pakistan People’s Party’s Syed Naveed Qamar said that terrorists should be hunt down with full force irrespective of their nationality, religion or ethnicity. He said that terrorists deserved no leniency, as they were killing innocent people. He said the opposition would fully support the government in the fight against terrorism. He said that all energies should be spent on elimination of terrorism from Pakistan. He said that nurseries where children were being indoctrinated should be destroyed to make Pakistan safe.

Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch expressed grief over the incident and said the entire nation should join the forces to eliminate terrorists from the country. He urged religious scholars and political forces to get united against the extremist mind-set. He said the government would address the root causes of terrorism. He said that people started raising a hue and cry when the state agencies took action against certain groups or political parties. He asked all political parties to support the government in the war against terrorism. He called for implementation of all 20 points of the National Action Plan (NAP).

Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Sahibzada Tariqullah said that Pakistan had been under such attacks for the last 15 years and added that solid steps should be taken to make Pakistan a safe place. He said that India was behind terrorism in Pakistan and this issue should be highlighted at all international forums, including the United Nations.

JUI-F leader Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani said that international forces were trying to destabilise Muslim countries, especially Pakistan.